Celebrate The StarCraft II Beta With These Exclusive Video Interviews!

So, if you haven't heard, Blizzard Entertainment launched the worldwide beta test for StarCraft II, one of the most anticipated games of all time. Along with testing StarCraft II, gamers will get a chance to try out Battle.net 2.0, which will be integrated into all Blizzard games going forward.

It's been a long wait for the beta, which we thought had been ready to go last summer around BlizzCon 2009, but it was eventually delayed while work continued on Battle.net 2.0. At the end of January, we visited Blizzard to get our hands on the beta build and sit down with some very important people at Blizzard.

First up, Greg Canessa, lead designer on Battle.net 2.0, talks at length about the three design pillars of Battle.net 2.0, support for map and mod-makers, eSports plans, and drops some exciting details about the Leagues & Ladders system. Hint: there will be a pro-league that only the best of the best can compete in that comes with special privileges and responsibilities.

Next, lead designer Dustin Browder talks about the launch of the beta, the game's current balance, and how he expects there to be more testing within the first few days of the beta than the last 4 years internally at Blizzard.

Be sure to jump through to see a combo-interview with Rob Pardo, executive VP of game design, and Chris Sigaty, lead producer of StarCraft II, as they talk about the future of Battle.net 2.0 and the beta.